Comforting Quilters

At the Battle of Byron last Spring, 2009, Comforting Quilters sponsored a Vintage Quilt Show in the museum section of the Byron Depot.  These quilts were so beautiful and carry a great deal of history for many families here in Georgia. 

Do you see a family quilt?  Leave me a comment and let me know!  I'll mark the quilt with your name.

Enjoy the show!

Comforting Quilters recently submitted a photo of the Raffle Quilt to The Pocket Testament League for the new cover of their pocket bibles.  While we did not place among the top twenty finalists, they have posted all of the entries and their stories on their Website.

Take a moment and view all 130 entries, and have fun viewing our submission as well!  CQ's entry is number 41.

Have a Great Day and Thanks to Para Vinson for the photo!  It's absolutely stunning!

Don't forget that we will be at the Byron Chili Fest this Saturday, October 23, 2010 selling our Raffle Tickets for this quilt!

Stop by our booth, buy a ticket and watch us quilt!

Tickets are on sale now!

$1.00 Each
$5.00 for Six
$10.00 for Twelve

Email us to order your tickets now!

Come Learn a New Technique!

September has flown by too fast! I took a great trip to visit my Dad for his 80th Birthday the first of the month, and the remaining 15 days or so have simply breezed on through!

Mike and I spent the day at the Georgia National Fair this past Sunday. What a great day of fun and excitement. I actually had my first funnel cake and it tasted pretty good! Of course, my favorite adventure is browsing the art, photography, and quilts! What beautiful works of art! If you get the chance, you simply must put in at least an hour to do nothing to gaze to the heavens and see what creative minds these women have. Truly an inspiration!

While visiting a booth sponsored by a quilt guild in Perry, I learned a new technique for making quilts. It is the most excited I have been in a very long time, and realized that this was the ticket for comfort quilts.

This weekend, I will be showing you all how to make these fabulous, beautiful and quick quilts that pull the art of quilting together for all to enjoy!

Be sure not miss this! It will be a great day of sewing quilts for everyone!

Remember, we will not be meeting Friday night. Our scheduled business meeting will be at 9:00 AM Saturday morning, October 16th at the Byron Depot. We'll have the coffee on and provide a breakfast snack, so come prepared to learn, cut, sew and quilt!

Again, it is always nice to know who will be in attendance. Please take a moment and let me know if you will be there so we can plan our day!

Blessings,

Julie
Comforting Quilters

This film was too cute and funny not to post. What a comfort!

Thanks goes out to our own Para Vinson for her stunning photo of our Raffle Quilt! The photo has been submitted to the The Pocket Testament League's Contest for their new cover's on their bibles. Please visit their website and make a donation or a sponsor a group needing bibles. Comforting Quilters has received sponsors from this group in order to provide the Book of John with our quilts.


2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (New International Version)



In February 2010, a prayer was answered with the establishment of Comforting Quilters in Byron, GA.

What a comfort to me, to have been given the opportunity to give to those in need, while at the same time, feed my love of quilting. It is through this medium, that the Lord has nourished and comforted my soul with His Spirit of giving.

One early Saturday morning, a few gracious women gathered at a dining room table for brunch to discuss the goals and dreams of a group that would sew quilts to comfort those needing a hug, something to keep them warm when life seems cold and daunting or something soft to cry a tear of joy.

Comforting Quilters was born that morning, with great expectations, fantastic dreams and not a penny to our name. A fundraiser was needed right away! What better way to raise capital than to have a Quilt Raffle. Unsure of how we would accomplish the task of a raffle, how we would sell tickets or even when we would meet again, each woman ventured out to contemplate the morning’s events.

God works in mysterious ways, for soon we were asked to provide a General Store at the Byron Depot for the Battle of Byron in May. We only had 6 weeks to pull this group together, create a quilt and build a General Store!

After many late nights stitching the quilt top and a flurry of activity building store props, gathering antiques, ordering penny candy and designing our store, the Lord provided us with another blessing that we had yet to see.

It was during our planning meeting one evening that the yet unfinished quilt top was brought to show the group the progress. The quilt was taken outside to hold up and view. Para Vinson pulled out her camera phone to snap a photo or two and everyone was mesmerized by what they witnessed.

There on the deck of the Byron Depot, with the sun just beginning to set, the quilt top was displayed with the sun coming through the top. Our quilt, that we had meticulously stitched shown with the Love of Christ by displaying a beautiful stain-glassed window effect and the cross shining through! It was at that moment, we realized that indeed, the Spirit of the Lord was working through our quilts to provide comfort to those in need.

This picture has made the rounds to family and friends around the country having an effect of awe and wonder at the might and glory that only He can provide.

Comforting Quilters had a great time with the kids on July 31st at the Byron Depot.  Each child brought four bandanas and made the cutest bags!  In addition, all 13 raised their hands to do this again.  By the end of the session, they were all sewing comfortably with the machine and ready to rock!  Great day and fun times!

More History for your to enjoy:



The Nineteenth Century

During the first half of the nineteenth century, distinctly American styles of patchwork quilts developed in the Delaware Valley. Combining British needlework techniques with German decorative traditions, these quilts featured bold geometric designs in contrasting colors. Quilt makers typically constructed their quilts with repeating blocks rather than in the older framed-center style. The new styles entered Georgia through coastal cities and inland routes into the backcountry, largely replacing older styles by about 1850.

Bible Quilt Harriet Powers finished her Bible Quilt around 1886 in Athens.  The third panel in the second row depicts the story of Jacob's dream,  when "he lay on the ground." Enslaved blacks identified with Jacob,  for he was homeless, hunted, and  weary of his journey.   Courtesy of National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

African Americans, both enslaved and free, made quilts. Slave owners
typically either supplied families

with purchased blankets or directed the production of thick whole-cloth comforters on the plantation. Some skillful seamstresses made fine quilts for their owners or clients, while others acquired fabrics to make quilts for their own use. Although most surviving nineteenth-century quilts made by African Americans resemble those made by European Americans, there is some evidence of the survival of African design elements. Harriet Powers of Athens, the most famous African American quilt maker of the nineteenth century, made quilts depicting historical events and Bible stories. Her pictorial motifs resemble West African ceremonial textiles.

The Civil War (1861-65) and Reconstruction affected all aspects of everyday life, including quilt making. The families of Confederate soldiers were required to supply their clothing and bedding. Many women returned to spinning and weaving when manufactured fabrics became unavailable. Shortages of sewing-machine needles, manufactured thread, cards, and other textile tools limited production. When Northern armies invaded, some families hid fine quilts and other valuables to save them from theft or destruction.

Ladies Aid Society, 1904 Members of the Ladies Aid Society of Marietta at a First Baptist Church quilting in 1904. Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia Collection

During the mid-nineteenth century, New England textile mills produced affordable fabrics, replacing imports for everyday clothing and household needs. As the southern economy improved after the war, quilt making became popular among middle-class women. Sewing machines enabled women to make family clothing more quickly, allowing more time for decorative sewing, including quilt making. Georgia quilts made in the second half of the nineteenth century display a wide variety of techniques, patterns, and color combinations.

"Whig's Defeat" This pieced and appliqued quilt, entitled "Whig's Defeat,"  was made in 1856 by Susan Lloyd, a resident of Rome. Courtesy of John Burrison

Between 1880 and 1900 Georgia quilt makers took part in a popular internat
ional phenomenon of making what are known as crazy quilts. Women assembled irregularly shaped pieces of satin and velvet into random arrangements, then embellished them with embroidery. Too fragile for actual use as bedcovers, crazy quilts reflected the ornate decorative styles of the late Victorian era.

Popular periodicals, which circulated widely throughout the country in the 1890s, published quilt-pattern diagrams. As a result, regional patterns became distributed nationally, many new patterns emerged, and some old patterns were given names for the first time. The development of textile mills in southern states near the end of the century made fabric less expensive, and even poor families could afford fabric for quilts.